The News Vault from KCBS Radio

On August 25, 1981, a construction crew punctured a 16-inch natural gas gas pipeline within a block of KCBS Radio's Embarcadero Center studios in San Francisco. The leak went on for hours, forcing the evacuation of 30,000 people--including everyone from the KCBS Radio newsroom and studios. The next morning, the station had returned to its facilities. Al Hart is the station's lead anchor, joined by...

On August 25, 1981, a construction crew punctured a 16-inch natural gas gas pipeline within a block of KCBS Radio's Embarcadero Center studios in San Francisco. The leak went on for hours, forcing the evacuation of 30,000 people--including everyone from the KCBS Radio newsroom and studios.  The next morning, the station had returned to its facilities but abandoned the normal format for extend...

On August 25, 1981, a construction crew punctured a 16-inch natural gas gas pipeline within a block of KCBS Radio's Embarcadero Center studios in San Francisco. The leak went on for hours, forcing the evacuation of 30,000 people--including everyone from the KCBS Radio newsroom and studios. The next morning, the station had returned to its facilities. Al Hart is the station's lead anchor, joined by...

On August 25, 1981, a construction crew punctured a 16-inch natural gas gas pipeline within a block of KCBS Radio's Embarcadero Center studios in San Francisco. The leak went on for hours, forcing the evacuation of 30,000 people--including everyone from the KCBS Radio newsroom and studios. This edited version of live coverage reveals the challenges facing the broadcast team.

An edition of the KCBS Radio newsmagazine program "Jan Black's Journal" broadcast from San Jose's Fairmont Hotel on April 27, 1988. The guest host Jan Hutchins, himself the host of a regular evening interview program on KCBS Radio, discussed San Jose's history and role in the Bay Area with two guests: longtime San Jose Mercury reporter and political writer Harry Farrell and Bob Haulman, a longtime...

On August 27, 1987, KCBS Radio broadcast an hour-long special report, "The Feinstein Years". Produced and reported by longtime KCBS Radio San Francisco City Hall reporter Barbara Taylor, the piece examined the legacy of a political figure who had served at San Francisco City Hall for more than 17 years (sworn in as a city Supervisor in 1970) and was a few months away from the end of her mayoral te...

On December 23 1993, KCBS Radio broadcast a special report entitled “Gourmet Garbage”. Reporter Mike Sugerman looked into the amount of food wasted by the food service business, at a time when public attention was focused on the growing problems of hunger and homelessness. As part of his research, Sugerman spent time peering into trash cans behind stores, hotels, and restaurants. The a...

This May 31, 1961 KCBS Radio broadcast featured host Scott Beach interviewing UC Berkeley Professor Jack London, an expert in the area of Adult Education. The "News Conference" format allowed listeners to submit questions while the studio host conducted the live interview.

On November 10 1945, KQW (the predecessor call letters to KCBS Radio) aired a live production celebrating "25 Years of Broadcasting" as the radio industry marked a quarter-century since the first government-licensed broadcasts on KDKA/Pittsburgh and WWJ/Detroit. Of course, KQW/KCBS roots ran deeper, traced to the 1909 broadcasts by Dr. Charles Herrold in San Jose. This audio file, courtesy of the...

This is a “telescoped” reel of audio from the period between 5pm and 6pm on October 17, 1989 as KCBS Radio swings into gear after the Loma Prieta Earthquake—the first hour of coverage following the 5:03 pm quake. Jan Black is the studio anchor. Stan Bunger and Mike Woodley are at Candlestick Park. Of note: a pre-recorded  safety announcement, which urged listeners to consult the front of thei...

This is an example of the journalistic tradition known as the “yearender”. Aired on December 29, 1957 and January 1, 1958, it is a KCBS Radio broadcast anchored by Don Mozley. He sums up the year’s developments in California politics—including the announcement by state Attorney General Pat Brown that he would seek the governor’s office in the 1958 election. When he wo...

On May 24, 1967, KCBS Radio host Harv Morgan devoted his nighttime “Contact” program to a discussion of the brewing crisis in the Middle East. The “Six Day War” would break out two weeks later. Morgan’s first guest is Christina Harris, a longtime Middle East expert at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University. His second guest is UC Berkeley professor George Lenc...

This episode of the KCBS Radio weekly program “In Depth” aired the weekend of August 28 th /29 th , 1999. Governor Gray Davis was the guest. He was interviewed by Mike Pulsipher and Ed Cavagnaro. Davis had been elected Governor the previous November, defeating Dan Lungren. His election ended a 16 year period during which Republicans controlled the Governor’s office. Davis was re-...

In August, 1964, The Beatles launched their first American tour, and the first stop was San Francisco. In the midst of Beatlemania, an enterprising KCBS Radio journalist named Hilly Rose scored an exclusive: an interview with the Fab Four in their hotel room.  This episode includes the actual interview, held in the collection of the Bay Area Radio Museum, as well as an interview with Rose con...

This is a complete KCBS Radio aircheck of the 4 PM to 5 PM hour on Sunday, October 22, 2000. Dave Padilla anchors. The major stories of the day relate to a windstorm that caused numerous power outages and helped drive a wildfire in the Oakland Hills, not far from where the October 1991 fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed 25 people.

KCBS Radio reporter Stan Bunger produced this special report, interviewing Nazi death camp survivor (and Bay Area resident) Eddy Wynschenk as well as the commander of the unit that liberated the Birkenau camp, Colonel Bob Clark of the 104th Infantry Division "Timberwolves". Original broadcast date: July 27, 1986.

Al Douglas was well-known to KCBS Radio evening listeners in the 1960’s. He hosted a call-in program called “Viewpoint” as well as an interview program called “The Al Douglas Show”. He was known for his wide-ranging interests, choosing interview subjects from across a wide spectrum. This example from the California Historical Society/Bay Area Radio Museum collection i...

A power failure inside the Transbay Tube led to massive headaches for BART commuters in 1996.  KCBS Radio reporters on both sides of the Bay swung into action to cover the story. The coverage led to numerous awards for the station.

In May 1989, KCBS Radio reporter Mike Sugerman looked into a controversy surrounding the California Victims Compensation Fund and whether it was properly paying out claims.

On September 22, 1975, President Gerald Ford was the target of an assassination attempt outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square. This audio file is a compendium of KCBS Radio coverage of the event.

In March of 1988, the legendary radio broadcast "The World News Roundup" turned 50.  The weekly CBS Radio program "Newsmark" devoted an episode to honoring the WNR. 

This program, hosted by Hilly Rose, examined the defeat of a bond measure that would have funded the reconstruction of the War Memorial Opera House. Rose’s guests were two legendary names: impresario Sol Hurok, who favored the bond measure, and Louis Lurie, real estate tycoon and theater investor. Lurie had opposed the bond measure.  It was a spirited exchange, to say the least! At one...

This is a portion of KCBS Radio live coverage around 9am on March 5, 1983 as President and Mrs. Reagan accompanied Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip from San Francisco to end a whirlwind visit by both the First Couple and the Royal Couple. The royal yacht Britannia docked at San Francisco's Pier 50, and the Queen and Prince Philip used the ship to host a dinner in honor of t...

"That's feeding, not eating": one of the unrestrained comments from famed chef, broadcaster and writer Julia Child in this interview from the long-running KCBS Radio series "In Depth". The interviewer was KCBS Radio Food and Wine Editor Narsai David. This episode aired on May 14, 1995.

Jane Riley spent 30 years at KCBS Radio. She was hired in 1971 for a secretarial job and spent many years as the administrative assistant to the station’s vice president and general manager.  For 25 years, Riley produced and hosted a program she created, “Bay Area Woman”. She figured she interviewed 2,000 women from all walks of life. She finally retired at age 79. Riley tol...